publications_unodc_commentary-e

not hold a supervisory or administrative position in that office, caution should beexercised and recusal from all cases from that office considered for two reasons.First, since members in that office may share information on pending cases, there isa risk that the judge’s family member would inadvertently be involved in, orinfluence, other cases coming from that office, even without direct supervisoryresponsibility. Second, the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned. Thetest is: might a reasonable observer have significant doubt over whether the judgemight have a conscious or subconscious bias towards the professional success of theoffice in which the judge’s family member serves on a regular basis?Dating relationship with a lawyer131. Where a judge is socially involved in a dating relationship with a lawyer,the judge should not, ordinarily, sit on cases involving that lawyer, unless theappearance of the lawyer is purely formal or otherwise put on the record. However,the judge is not ordinarily required to recuse himself or herself in cases involvingother members of that lawyer’s firm or office.Circuits in which there is only one judge and one lawyer132. There are judicial circuits or districts where there is only one judge on thebench and one lawyer in the prosecutor’s or defender’s office. If that lawyerhappens to be the son or daughter or other close relative of the judge, a mandatorydisqualification would bar the judge from presiding over all criminal cases. Thiswould impose hardship, not only on the other judges in the region (who would becalled upon to sit for the disqualified judge), but also on the defendants. It wouldalso become difficult to guarantee a speedy trial, to which defendants are entitled, ifa substitute judge has to be found in all such criminal cases. While disqualificationmay not be an absolute requirement in these circumstances, situations such as theseshould, so far as is reasonably practicable, be avoided.93